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Defective Drug Laws Target Americans Who Need Help With Substance Abuse, Not Imprisonment.

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America has defective drug laws that are putting substance abusers behind bars rather than providing them with the treatment they need to live a drug-free life.

60 to 70 percent of inmates in prisons and jails are there for drug use and addiction rather than for other punishable crimes.

To make matters worse, the United States has been incarcerating people for drug use without treating the initial problem. substance abuse and addiction.

This leads to detrimental results such as overcrowding and increased violence in jails, which leads to more money being spent on the building and running of new prisons.

It’s a solution that doesn’t work for anyone and ultimately just recycles people back into society, and then back to prison as they use and abuse again.

A much better solution for drug offenses in America is to acknowledge that drug addiction is a public health concern before it’s a legal issue.

Studies around the country show that every dollar spent on treating addiction reduces the overall cost of crimes that are drug related.

It’s time for citizens and politicians to address defective drug laws that do nothing more than contribute to more crime and violence in America.

New laws are needed to encompass the social, health, and legal issues of drug use and addiction so that we can reduce the impact current laws are imposing on people who are in need of treatment, not imprisonment.

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Drug Laws Lead to Policies of Failure

Throughout America thousands of people have been cycled in and out of the penitentiary system.

The majority of these people are poor and part of a minority group. Take the state of New York for instance.

One quarter of the prison population in this state is made up of drug offenders. Most of these are repeat offenders.

By the time many of these offenders reach their forties they have spent at least one third of their lives in prison.

Defective drug laws put these people in prison for small scale and non-violent drug offenses.

This is clearly a policy of failure rather than one of success, which is what America’s social system should be working towards.

This country’s drug laws damage the most vulnerable of its citizens. Minority groups and those people living below the poverty line.

Laws should be in place as a commitment to equality and justice rather than as a catalyst towards social break down.

Once a person is released from prison with a drug record they have a black mark on their back.

The unemployment rate for former inmates is extremely high, once again indicating that drug laws and policies need to be amended before we have complete societal disintegration.

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America’s Current Drug Policy

The United States has an interesting drug policy that is no longer working, if it ever worked at all.

This country has more people in prisons than any other country around the world.

It could be said that imprisonment is an expensive industry all on its own in America.

One severe failing of our drug policy is that it labels people with drug addictions as criminals who need to be locked away.

This is a wrong conception to make and needs to be rectified if we’re to see any changes towards defective drug laws.

It simply doesn’t make any sense to lock up someone for drug use and addiction.

Many Americans, politicians and citizens alike, are reluctant to talk about the War on Drugs.

Drug issues in this country continue to be swept under the table for fear it might be thought that someone might be campaigning to legalize drugs.

That is far from the cause as drug laws are not about legalizing drugs nor making them illegal.

Drug policies are about taking care of citizens in the best way possible without the least harm to everyone.

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Treatment Versus Imprisonment

It’s time for politicians and the legal system of America to recognize that treatment for drug abuse and addiction is the only solution.

There may not be a cure for drug abuse but treatment and education are investments in a healthy social network as well as an investment towards public safety.

It’s been proven that counties and states that use drug treatment rather than imprisonment see a reduction in crime and violence.

The main battle against drug abuse and addiction should be to help each addict become drug free.

Treatment and rehabilitation can help addicts make positive changes in their lives.

Prison just accentuates the problem by releasing addicts back into society once they’ve done their time.

Defective drug laws haven’t worked the way they were intended. Offenders of drug convictions shouldn’t be spending time in prison while their addiction goes untreated.

It’s crucial that America addresses the problem of drug addiction and offers treatment to those people whose lives are affected by drug abuse instead of hiding them in prisons hoping the problem will go away.

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